


Morning

by PorcelainWings



Series: 25 (holi)Days of Wayhaven [1]
Category: The Wayhaven Chronicles (Interactive Fiction)
Genre: F/M, How Do I Tag, Originally Posted on Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-16
Updated: 2021-01-16
Packaged: 2021-03-14 12:29:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,540
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28795419
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PorcelainWings/pseuds/PorcelainWings
Summary: Lori turns up at the warehouse early in hopes of getting some quality time with her boyfriend; the vampires, it seems, have other plans.
Relationships: Female Detective/Nathaniel "Nate" Sewell
Series: 25 (holi)Days of Wayhaven [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2111190
Kudos: 8





	Morning

**Author's Note:**

> The first of my Wayhaven Monthly's 2020 (holi)Days of Wayhaven, and my first ever Wayhaven fanfiction.  
> This was my first ever attempt at writing UB, so please go easy on me 💕

Lorelei is not a morning person on her days off. Fact #1.

Lorelei hates work meetings. Fact #2.

Lorelei therefore believes morning work meetings on her day off were deliberately created to spite her as some form of punishment. The only upside in her mind, and the only reason she deigned to arrive earlier than 5 minutes before the meeting time itself, being the prospect of stealing away some time with Nate. The wistful smile that always finds its way to her lips at the thought of Nate is quickly swept away as she steps out of her car. A small shiver runs down her spine while she locks Sterling up, the leggings she wears under her dress in Winter doing very little to keep out the ever increasing cold. She goes to wrap her scarf tighter around her neck as she begins to make her way inside but stops mid action in surprise at the sight of Morgan leaning in the entryway.

“Oh! Good morning! It’s rather chilly for you to be out here, isn’t it?”

“A girl can’t enjoy a cigarette outside?”

Lori raises an eyebrow, her eyes scanning Morgan from head to toe at the question. It’d been growing ever rarer for her to be greeted by Morgan whenever she arrived at the warehouse, the Winter’s cold starting to keep the vampire closer to an indoor ashtray rather than encourage her to be outside.

“You’re literally shaking.”

Morgan rolls her eyes, brushing the observation off with an only slightly shaky shrug.

“Eh, I was pretty much ordered out here by Nate.”

“And you’re always _so_ good at following orders,” Lori quips, sarcasm heavy in her voice.

Morgan simply raises her cigarette to her mouth once more as she gives a one-word reply.

“Exactly.”

Morgan smiles behind her hand at the amused laugh the simple response got. The smile quickly fades but her eyes still soften as Lori turns to look up at her through fluttering lashes, preparing to fish for information.

“Speaking of my tall, dark, handsome reason for being here though-“

“-You mean you’re here just for him and _not_ to annoy the rest of us? I’m wounded and rather jealous, Detective.”

The sarcastic tease hits its mark, with Lori picking up the energy and happily running with it. She places her hand upon her chest, affecting a remorseful expression and tone of voice.

“Unfortunately, no, I’m not here for you, Specialist Agent. At least not this early. But you _are_ graced with my presence for a brief amount of time as consolation.” She takes a small bow, a smug smile upon her lips. “You’re welcome.”

The amused laugh Lori receives causes her smile to soften into a more genuine one; she still always considers it a victory when Morgan laughs _with_ her not _at_ her. But the moment can only last so long, the desire to see Nate clawing increasingly at the back of her mind and demanding to be noticed.

“Seriously though, Morgan, do you know where he is?”

Morgan takes a slow drag of her cigarette, offering a question instead of the answer she was hoping for.

“Think, Princess, where’s he usually?”

Lorelei stops to think for a moment; it’s their _home_ , he very well could be anywhere… but a safe bet is usually - “The library?”

Morgan shrugs in response. “Good a place as any to check, right?”

“Right.” Lori gives her a bright smile and a small wave, which is stoically returned, before taking off into the warehouse, calling back a quick “Thanks, Sparks.” as she goes.

Morgan leans back against the wall once more after watching her leave, shaking her head as she smirks around her cigarette.

~~~*~~~

“Farah?”

Of all the people Lori expected to see in the library, Farah was the most surprising. At least with Morgan the argument could be made for her enjoying the peace.

“Lori!”

Farah looks up from the book on her lap with fake surprise, as if she hadn’t obviously heard her coming down the corridor, before leaping up off her perch on the table corner to run to sweep Lori up in a hug. Lori laughs brightly as she hugs back just as tightly.

“Good morning to you too, but what on earth are you willingly doing down here? Is Nate with you?”

Farah barely steps out of the embrace, though her hand moves to fidget with a few of her loose curls.

“Oh, uh, yeah, Nate was totally here. Not long ago. You just missed him, actually, but I’m here! And even in a boring place like this, we can totally find something fun to do, right?”

While normally Lori’d be happy to spend time with the young vampire, a ‘girl’s hangout’ was not her original plan, and she’s nothing if not determined to see her original plan through. She’s pretty sure even Farah herself knows how suspicious her nervous response was too, but she doesn’t point it out, simply offering a warm smile at her flustering.

“Sweetie, you _know_ it’s always fun when it’s the two of us.” She winks with the statement, causing both women to giggle. “But I really was hoping to get to see Nate.”

Farah sighs dramatically, but a teasing spark lights up her golden eyes.

“Can’t keep away from our Agent Suavewell, eh?”

Lori laughs, shrugging casually as she readily admits to the truth of the light-hearted accusation.

“What can I say, I’m a simple girl with simple desires.”

Farah lowers her voice conspiratorially, waggling her eyebrows suggestively.

“That desire being Natey?”

Lori lowers her voice to match, the undertone of sensuality coming naturally even as they joke.

“Oh, that desire _definitely_ being Nate.”

They briefly lose themselves to a round of giggles; the knowledge that the man in question would have likely only sighed with resignation amusing them both even more.

“But really, Farah.” Lori says, bringing them both back to seriousness. “I’ve been dragged out of bed on my day off, the _one_ day I’m not a morning person, to have a team meeting. I just really, _really_ want to see my boyfriend before then.”

Lori accentuated her pleading with a beseeching pout, fluttering her lashes to emphasize her sparkling blue eyes even though Farah refused to meet them with her own.

“So, if you know where he’s gone…?” she trailed off, the sheer force of begging in her tone encouraging Farah to finally meet her gaze; a decision she quickly regretted. Farah groaned, instantly covering her eyes to avoid the persuasive pleading in her eyes, the childlike pout that remained on her lips only adding to the pressure.

“You know exactly how powerful you are, don’t you Lori? Poor Nate must be powerless.”

Lori’s pout melted into a smug smile before she could stop it, though she quickly regained her pout with another flutter of her lashes when Farah opened her eyes.

“Pleeeeeease, Farah? Any ideas at all?”

“I…” Lori had to admit it was actually rather amusing to watch Farah’s eyes dart around so rapidly, desperately trying to think of any answer other than the one she clearly didn’t want to share. “Have you… checked the living room? Yeah that’s a good idea, you should check the living room. I’m sure that, no no, I’m _positive_ that you should go check the living room.”

Lori sighed as she ceased her pleading, offering the harried vampire an understanding smile. It was obviously more of a guess than anything else but while teasing was fun, tormenting was not, and she’d already put enough stress on her dear friend. Whether she did have any real idea where Nate was or not, Lori’d take the suggestion she gave.

“Thank you. I promise, _promise_ , _**promise**_ we’ll get to hang out another time.”

She pulled Farah back in for another clinging hug, one that was happily returned, before setting off to her next destination.

“I’ll hold you to that, Lori.”

She laughed at Farah’s yell, turning back only to wave with an affectionate smile, not hearing the whisper that followed.

“Assuming you’re not super mad at me, of course.”

~~~*~~~

“Oh, she is going to **pay**.”

It had been a good while of Lorelei simply standing in the doorway, silently glaring at Adam who sat reading some book she didn’t care to name, before she finally offered words to the peaceful room.

“Always a pleasure to see you too, Detective.”

Lori scoffed, rolling her eyes as she crossed her arms.

“I’m not stupid, you know.” Adam raised an eyebrow, turning the page and continuing to read – though they both knew he was listening to every word. “At this point I’ve more than realised you’re all sending me on some weird vampire goose chase. What I don’t know, is _why_.”

He hummed thoughtfully, closing the book and meeting her unamused gaze with far too much mirth for her liking.

“Did it not cross your mind, Detective, that perhaps we all simply wanted to say ‘good morning’ to you personally?”

She rolls her eyes once more, but plasters on a sugary sweet smile all the same. Her voice takes on the same tone when she places her hand to her chest and flutters her lashes at him.

“Why, good _morning_ , Commanding Agent du Mortain. I do trust it has been most relaxing and pleasant for you. But perchance, if I may now ask… Where’s my boyfriend and why are you hiding him from me?”

The laugh she received was… unexpected to say the least. Normally any quips she threw his way, friendly or otherwise, were met with stoicism or annoyance. It was rare to see the man with a smile, let alone one that showed off dimples he’d apparently been hiding - doubly so to see one caused by her. (She’d later deny the streak of pride that flushed through her at the realisation she’d caused that.)

The smile remains as he responds simply, “He’s in the kitchen.”

Her eyes narrow with unveiled suspicion, causing him to bite back another laugh.

“I feel I’ve done my part in something I initially desired nothing to do with. Therefore, I have no reason to lie to you, Leina.” He openly explained.

Her eyes remained narrowed as she gave a contemplative hum; she couldn’t sense any deception coming from him, and Adam _had_ always been fairly easy for her to read. She finally nods in apparent satisfaction before twirling around to walk away.

“I’ll be right back if he’s not there, just so you know.” she calls back as she lets the door shut behind her.

Adam chuckles softly, returning to his reading with (what he’d later deny is) a fond smile still upon his lips.

“I don’t doubt it, Detective.”

~~~*~~~

He hears her before he sees her; the heartbeat he has sealed in his memory growing louder as her footsteps draw closer instantly bringing a natural smile to his face, despite her arrival coming sooner than planned.

“Nate, dearest, are you _actually_ in here? Because the only team member left is my mum, and quite frankly if Adam’s sent me to her I’m going to shoot him.”

The cheery tone with which she delivers her empty threat makes him chuckle.

“You most certainly would not and we both know it.”

Her bright answering laugh lights up the room as she finally enters, easily stepping into his arms as if she belonged there before tilting her head upwards for a greeting kiss he is more than happy to provide.

“Though I confess, you have me curious now.” He teases, rubbing gentle circles into the small of her back. “How exactly would you have explained that greeting to your mother, had I not been here?”

“She’s my mother and she’s met Adam, she’d understand.” Her flippant response gradually trails off into a softly spoken question. “Nate, what’s all this?”

The table in front of her has been laid out beautifully with a small centrepiece of tulips amidst a myriad of enticing dishes on display; even a charming teapot sits ready between two cups. Distantly she can hear, and smell, something continuing to cook, but it fades into the background in the face of what’s already before her.

“It’s breakfast, for us. Though we certainly don’t have to get through it all,” he laughs. “You mentioned your intent to show up early so I was trying to surprise you. We haven’t had much of a chance to enjoy each other’s company lately so I thought we could steal a few moments this morning before the meeting. Unless-”

“I’d love to.”

She cuts him off immediately, the awe in her delicate voice bringing an instant smile to his face.

“Thank you. Unfortunately though, I still have a few remaining pieces to set up - keeping you occupied is _clearly_ a most tricky task, even for a team of vampires.” He places a soft kiss to the top of her head, drawing her closer in his arms as she giggles. “But if you take a seat, I shall join you as soon as I possibly can.”

She reaches up on her tiptoes, looking up through her lashes and biting her lip seductively while winding her arms around his neck – a near impossible feat if not for his accommodatingly leaning down.

“Oh, I can think of _somewhere_ I’d like to take a seat, but it doesn’t involve breakfast.”

Nate chuckles with amusement, though far more huskily than intended.

“Please, Lori, for me?”

Lori sighs exaggeratedly, removing her arms from around his neck to rest upon his chest with a small pout.

“I _suppose_ I can reign myself in for the duration of one wholesome breakfast. But only because you asked so nicely.”

His answering chuckle fills her with warmth, leaving her unable to maintain her faux disappointment for long.

“Thank you.”

Nate lightly squeezes her waist before pulling away. She watches with a smile as he double checks the tie of his apron, fully prepared to head back to the stove before his eyes widen with a realisation; a simple thing they both forgot.

“Oh!” He leans back down quickly, holding her chin gently between his thumb and forefinger to tilt her face towards his. He pressed a single soft kiss upon her lips, affection strong in the light touch.

“Good morning, my dear heart.”

He saunters away with a satisfied smile leaving her stood there stunned, head still tilted towards where he had been. Her fingertips come up to rest against her lips, the tingles left lingering causing a light flush to cross her cheeks. Sometimes he really did just catch her off guard with his… everything. Her eyes take in the amazing food already on display, his tall form already back to work cooking even more just for them… for her. She ignores the prickling of tears that threaten to fall in the face of his tenderness, a bright smile settling in as she wraps herself in the comfort of the adoration she feels for him, in how lucky and how loved he makes her feel.

“Good morning, xīngān.” she breathes out, far too quiet for her to have intended for him to hear. Yet, even with his back turned and attention on his cooking, he hears… and he smiles.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you very much if you've made it this far! I hope it wasn't too much of a chore! Thank you, truly, for your time 💕  
> This fic was originally from my Tumblr.


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